Oh Good. Apparently Science Can Help You Tell Whether A Dude Is A Top Or A Bottom
Can you tell if a guy is a top or a bottom just by looking at him? A new article by Brian Moylan at Vice aims to find the answer to this controversial question.
Moylan points to a 2013 study in the Archives of Sexual Behavior that found people often rely on male-female gender stereotypes when identifying sexual roles in same-sex relationships.
For the study, 23 participants were shown the dating profile pics of 200 gay men, 100 tops and 100 bottoms, then asked to identify which was which. Based on the pictures alone, participants correctly identified the tops about 65 percent of the time and the bottoms just about 39 percent of the day, bringing the overall average correct guesses to 52 percent.
Dr. Nicholas O. Rule, who led the study, said the results primarily had to do with “heterosexually-inspired stereotypes about men” or biological indicators of masculinity, like a man’s level of hairiness, size of muscles, or squareness of jaw.
Moylan also looks at a 2011 study by Chinese and Canadian researchers Lijun Zheng, Trevor Adam Hart, and Yong Zheng that found it’s not just a man’s physical appearance that can reveal his preferred sexual position. His mannerisms also play a factor.
The researchers noticed that guys who said they were tops also tended to have more traditionally masculine interests, while the guys who identified as bottoms tended to adhere to more traditionally female gender roles.
Interestingly, in a separate study by the same research team, bottoms demonstrated a greater interest in faces of men considered to be traditionally masculine, while tops were more interested in traditionally feminine faces.
So what’s the takeaway from all this?
Moylan asks Dr. Trevor Adam Hart for his analysis.
“One hypothesis is there are biological differences between tops and bottoms, and that’s a possibility, but we don’t have any evidence to support it,” Hart explains.
At the end of the day, trying to guess whether a guy is a top of a bottom based on his physical appearance, his mannerisms, or his interests is a total crap shoot.
“There are a lot of tops that are feminine and bottoms that are masculine,” Hart continues, adding that most guys aren’t exclusively one position or another, even though they may gravitate towards one in particular.
Moylan offers this pearl of wisdom for those who are really curious: “If you’re getting close enough to a guy where it’s really going to matter, you might have to figure it out the old fashioned way: Ask.”
Sound advice.
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32 Comments
Simba
October 22, 05:11All these lies… Better ask ooo, before u get the biggest disappointment and waste ur time. But usually, before reaching the bed, the bottom or top already knows the role he gonna play,or even flip flop.
Mandy
October 22, 06:08I call BS. So the tops are masc and the bottoms are fem? Who’s sponsoring this research, Trump Inc?
Dubem
October 22, 06:09“How To Tell Whether A Dude Is A Top Or A Bottom”
If he grabs my crotch, he’s a bottom. If he grabs my ass, he’s a top.
Brian Collins
October 22, 16:54If he grabs both, he’s versatile, right?
Tangie Bloom
May 04, 14:53If he grabs both he has really long hands ???
YOU-KNOW-WHO
October 22, 17:16Bruh am botttom but I grab that’s ass first and squeeze it like agege bread. I guess your theory is null and void.
Whitney
October 22, 06:59If he grabs my scrotch, he’s a bottom, if he grabs my ass, he’s a top______shoooooo? @Dubem
Some tops just love to play with dick, they can give you nice bj. I’ve encountered a btm that wants to rim my ass. He wasn’t even verse.
There’s not a clear indication for top or bottom. But tops tend to be more masculine. Again, some gays would doubt when a girly guy says he’s top. We normally give the masculine and feminine top and bottom respectively. Both sides can play verse..
KryxxX
October 22, 07:46If he pouts and serve faces, he is a bottom. If he has a strong face like Obasanjo or Trump his top.
? ? Ngwa byeeeeeeeeeee! ???????????????
Peak
October 22, 07:54LOL, Going by the above, then Trump is verse cos he pouts with his strong face and all. He even has a pout on while talking
Peak
October 22, 07:50Another day, another round of BS. After our in house scientists go come tell me say science if full proof and is the only way of knowing the truth. Abeg what is truthful about this junk?
#Chestnut
October 22, 08:13@peak : u might call it crap, but the truth is that a lot of guys in real life, use those factors listed in the article, to guess a person’s role. for instance, as Witch just said, some bottoms might have reservations about being topped by a very effeminate guy,(maybe because subconsciously, they consider that person a bottom). conversely, some tops prefer “delicate-looking” features and mannerisms when seeking a partner. of course these theories are not always right, but many ppl believe in, and apply them in real life.
Peak
October 22, 09:14@Chestnut, personally, i consider such men as nothing but complete dummies. Effeminate guys are always quick to cry wolf and call it discrimination when Masc guys state their preference for Masculinity. But it is completely fine and called PREFERENCE when they operate a effete free zone when it comes to their sex lives.
I am having difficulty taking this inferences seriously because with more gay men I meet and experience, i have come to realise that we are a very heterogeneous and complex group and this deduction is overly generalised. When you operate in a pool that is largely influenced by pride, egotism, emotional instabiliity and unavailability, confusion, pretence and people with fake or multiple personalities, you would have to have something more cogent and detailed than this sweeping and overly generalised result.
Keredim
October 22, 14:03“Effeminate guys are always quick to cry wolf and call it discrimination when Masc guys state their preference for Masculinity.”
Ehh?!! Peak!!! Na you be dis?!?????
Peak
October 22, 14:48Keredim shift biko. I know what you are trying to do, but this is unrelated so don’t finger the stew.
Keredim
October 22, 15:22???no problem. So long as you know.
I go shift.
Just always look left and right while crossing over to the other side.
????
Witch
October 22, 07:56I’m effeminate, but i can’t let an effeminate guy top me, and i love rimming tops too. I’m strictly masc guys for sex, but always with my fellow Queens for gossips and slayage.
DI-NAVY
October 22, 12:41Jisie ike Nne
ambivalentone
October 22, 08:22Una still never define how person dey gay finish, na how to differentiate tops n bottoms ehkwa? Well done??
Eugene
October 22, 09:38LMAO!
DI-NAVY
October 22, 12:36ROTFLMHO
Bain
October 22, 08:58so vers nkor….nobody remember does ones dey okwaya?….I just feel chemistry BTW two ppl takes the hat….if I see a guy n d chem is der….on the bed things will work out too.
Bain
October 22, 09:00plus some guys are neither tops nor bottoms….just strictly oral….ya dey exist.
Pink Panther
October 22, 09:16Those exist. You’re right. But we are such a penetration-crazed generation, some pipu no go gree hear word.
Keredim
October 22, 12:58Sex sans penetration, is like eating pounded yam & your favourite soup, WITHOUT meat and/or fish….
anti-climatic
??????
Pink Panther
October 22, 13:07??? For you, yes. For some people, it’s the entire dish.
Keredim
October 22, 14:00@PP that explains the gradual return of kwashiorkor..??
Chei, ndi aguu???
Santa Diaba
October 22, 11:44Please louder, in case the people at the back didn’t hear ????
Jacques Dubois
October 22, 09:55Lol! This is a major issue every time. Please, let chemistry lead the way, if the worst happens, you make out, wank and give each other high fives….. ?????
DI-NAVY
October 22, 12:40Chemistry is everything. It can move mountains. Some love it up in their ass every time while some don’t. And some love it when they see someone they are connected to.
I know some guys who loves fondling dicks. Who can give head more than women sef. They can suck you and take you to heaven but they love ass so much
Chuck
October 22, 10:03The title is misleading. The surveys identified that mannerisms and looks don’t always accurately predict sexual roles. This does not invalidate the scientific method, and at no point did the Doctor try to make a generalized rule.
People will see what they want to see. On a personal note I see roles as habits that are renegotiated with every new partner. Someone may want to top A but bottom for B, and of course refuse to sleep with C. It’s very individual and dynamic.
Chizzie
October 22, 16:31I actually completely agree with this. And I know most of us here love to come across as post modern, and politically correct, living in a kumbaya world where stereotypes do not hold some truth.
But the truth of the matter is you can easily tell someone’s role by their pictures, even in some cases by how they type, or even the songs they listen to. So it is what it is…
Bain
October 22, 21:26eziokwu!